Investment and trade opportunities in Brunei’s halal industry continue to grow with strategic new initiatives especially in areas of food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical.

“Brunei Darussalam’s initiative would include the establishment of Brunei Halal Brand for food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

“We are capitalising on our strength as a country with strong Islamic credentials,” said Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship) at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) yesterday, at a seminar on “Investment Opportunities in Halal Industries”, hosted in collaboration with the Thai Embassy.

“Brunei Halal Brand certification gives you the assurance of a system that is not only credible, but also honest, transparent and decent,” he added.

Haji Khairuddin went on to say that another initiative undertaken by the government is the development of the BioInnovation Corridor (BIC). This is a Halal themed industrial park of 500 hectares, specifically developed for Halal certified products and related products.

BIC is capitalising on Brunei Darussalam’s stance on high-quality Halal certified food products, and its gateway status into the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

The purpose of the mini-seminar was to give a better understanding of Brunei Darussalam’s Halal certification process for the Thai entrepreneurs and halal practitioners who attended the recently concluded “Thai Halal Product Fair”.

Yesterday’s seminar began with a briefing on “Brunei Halal Initiative” by Haji Sabri bin Haji Mohd Taha, the Head of Halal Industry Innovation Centre at MIPR; and Feby Latif, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghanim International Food Corporation, a marketing arm of the Brunei Halal brand.

This was followed by a briefing on the “Brunei Halal Certification Process”, by a representative from the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA).

A presentation on “New Era of Borderless Halal”, was delivered by Hajah Sulinda Wangchi, the assistant director at the Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn University. Khathawat Lohmud, representing the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT), then gave a talk on the ‘Thai Halal Certification System”.

Present at the mini-seminar was H. E. Chirdchu Raktabutr, the Ambassador at the Royal Thai Embassy in Brunei Darussalam. Also in attendance were representatives from Brunei and Thailand halal agencies, along with investors and business executives from related agencies.

As the country Brunei is among world’s richest countries of the world, so you can think of its high profile news industry, which is being led by none other than the “Brunei Tribune”, which is the prominent online news website not only in the country but also in the Asean region with having its strong presence in the international media as well.